Killing for Anothers Life
by Kayomitsu
Summary: Zila is an unlucky competitor in an extra games the president has ordered. Along with her small five foot frame she is packing somthing else. A baby. Not just anyones baby either, Peeta frikking Mellarks.
1. Chapter 1

"Peeta Mellark!" my heart stopped as the name rang in the silence of the crowd. I watched in horror as the blonde headed boy made his way to the stage. I couldn't believe it, couldn't believe I had to watch the boy I loved fight in the arena. To watch him turn into a monster before dying.

I stared on as he and Katniss disappeared behind the doors before I was dragged away by Gale.

"No no no, Gale this can't be happening." I begged him to tell me any different.

"Sorry Zila it is. Look, I'll be back but I've gotta go see Katniss." He left me sitting outside my home.

The days passed quickly and I watched as Gale proclaimed his love for Katniss to Caesar and watched as he made his first kill. I watched on in horror and sadness as he and Katniss kissed in the cave before tearing out of Gales arms and running into the woods. I made sure to hide my trail so Gale couldn't follow me. I fell asleep out there in the woods, curled up under a fallen tree I didn't wake up until finally I heard Gale screaming for me.

I stood up shakily and brushed off the dirt from the clothes that hung off my skinny frame. I barely ate during the games every year this year I simply didn't eat at all.

"Gale! I'm over here!" I called. I spotted him charging through the forest towards me. I stared at him as he grabbed me tightly before scooping me up bridal style.

"God, Zila don't you know how long you've been out here?" I shook my head.

"You've been out here two days Zila. What were you thinking?" I glanced up at him.

"I was…sleeping. You woke me up." I spoke quietly, not having the energy to speak any louder.

"Well, you missed it, Peeta and Katniss both made it. They should be here by now and setting up in the victors village." we had reached the fence and Gale set me down to climb through before helping me climb through and picking me back up.

"I don't want to go see them. Just leave me at home." I muttered into his jacket.

"Why not?" He asked. I simply shook my head. In all reality I had a very good reason to not want to see them. I had slept with Peeta not long ago and my period had disappeared. I would ruin everything.

"I just can't Gale. I can't face Peeta." I told him. He looked down at me.

"Get over loving him. He's with Katniss. I've already made my peace with it." In a burst of anger I twisted out of his arms and growled at him.

"I'm pregnant Gale! It's Peetas! I would fuck everything up!" I yelled at him before walking off towards my house. I lived alone thankfully. My family was all dead. Well everyone except for the little life now residing inside me.

I left Gale standing there in shock as I burst through my doors expecting the shabby emptiness. Instead I found Peeta standing in my house with shock written all over his face. He had heard.

"Are you sure?" I slapped him.

"Of course I'm sure now leave!" I pushed past him but his cane caught my foot and I began to fall. Surprisingly strong arms wrapped around my middle and pulled me to a warm thick body.

"Zila," his voice scraped gently across my ears.

"Peeta, no. You have your life with Katniss now in Victors Village. I have my life of shit to continue on with." I tried to push myself away and realized I was crying.

"Zila, I can't leave you like this." I shook my head.

"You can and you will. You're in love with her aren't you? Then go love her! I'll survive." my head swam.

"When did you eat last?" I turned my face away. "When Zila?" he shook my shoulders.

"Reaping day." he scooped me up into his arms just as my vision darkened.

I woke up in a bed much softer than my own at home. Also this bed was much warmer and moved. I took a deep breath of the sweet air around me and snuggled farther into the bed. Something was draped comfortably around my waist.

Opening my eyes I was greeted by a head of blonde hair. Peeta. I must be in his house. Still didn't explain why he was here sleeping as well. I sat up carefully and stared at his sleeping face. I gently kissed his lips before getting up and leaving the room and making my way out of the house. It was apparently nighttime. I got to my house with no difficulty and lay in my bed as a few tears crept out of my eyes.

After that night I avoided Peeta at all costs as I grew larger. But then, in my fifth month of pregnancy, the government decided to come calling. We were once again lined up as Effie Trinket spoke, a huge purple wig with an orange flower in the front resting on her head.

"The president has decided that, in order for us to fully appreciate our peace we will be holding another games! Now: as always, ladies first!" She reached her pale hand into the glass ball and withdrew the piece of paper. Peeta and Katniss were standing holding hands on the stage.

"Azila Triarch!" Peetas eyes bulged as I stepped forward bravely and grabbed a peacekeepers arm so he could help me to the stage. The peacekeeper surprisingly didn't resist my hand on his arm, probably shocked at my state. I watched Effies eyes widen a bit as she took in my form draped in a sea green dress that complemented my tan skin and gray eyes.

I stood where I was supposed to and watched Effie draw the boys' name. A boy by the name of Eric Geates was picked. He was a large muscular boy with the Seem look about him. We shook hands and were promptly escorted to separate rooms.

I sat on the bed and sighed. Truth be told I knew this was coming. The moment Katniss and Gale both survived I knew the President would pull something like this.

Gale entered the room his face drawn.

"Zila, someone should have volunteered for you." He sighed. I shook my head.

"No, I have no one here to care enough. Besides. I plan on coming back." I growled surprising him.

"You do? But Zila, look at you. Five months pregnant and weak." I glared at him.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Gale. I appreciate it. But I'm ready to murder whoever stands in my way of bringing my baby home alive." again, his face was shocked.

"Well, then I suppose they will all learn not to piss off a pregnant woman." He laughed wetly.

"Yep." A peacekeeper opened the door and called time. Soon enough I was on my way with Eric to the train with Effie talking about everything in a subdued manner whilst eyeing my stomach every so often.

"Yes Effie. I am pregnant. Get over it. I can kill as well as anyone else. Probably better." I snapped at her. Eric smirked. The car stopped and we piled out and into the train.

"Well, I suppose I will go get your mentors. You get all three of them. Game rules." We waited as Haymitch, Katniss, and Peeta filed in. I stared at all of them. Haymitch looked surprisingly sober for once.

"Well, this is pure shit." Haymitch grabbed a bottle of vodka from the table and promptly took a swig.

"Agreed. Hand me something bad tasting would you?" I told him. He eyed me before handing me a lime green drink. I took a sip. It tasted horrible. I chugged it.

"So Peeta, how do you propose we save our asses?" I asked after refilling my glass.

"Find water, shelter, stay away from the original bloodbath. Keep the others in the dark of your abilities." He listed off. I rolled my eyes.

"That's basics yes. I'm looking for more than that. I intend to win." Katniss shot me a strange look and I followed her eyes to my stomach where my other hand rested.

"No fires unless you pair with the careers which I sort of doubt." Katniss answered me this time as Haymitch took another gulp of vodka. I handed him the green stuff. He took a gulp of that before making a face.

"Great, I need trained though on a few things. I'm betting so does Eric." I looked at Eric who was munching on a bread roll from the fishing district.

"Yeah, trident." he mumbled over the bread.

"You seem awfully okay with being picked for the games." Katniss looked at me skeptically.

"Well yeah. Think about it. I know President Snow got a good look at me when he came to visit. Yes I know about that. Not as weak or as stupid as you think." I ate some corn. Katniss looked mildly disturbed. "Going to bed before I steal Haymitches drink and chug it myself." I got up and left smiling at an Avox that took me to my room.

As soon as my door shut I flung myself on the bed and promptly fell asleep. I woke up later on, it was dark so I found the TV remote and turned it on. The previous games were the only things I was able to watch. Figures. I started watching them calculating moves I could do and how I could get out of them. A knock sounded on the door as the seventieth games came on.

"Come in." The door opened to reveal Peeta looking tired. I got up and shut the door behind him before leading him to the bed. He sat and leaned his cane against the dresser. I sat beside him and was suddenly pulled into his arms.

"I'm so sorry you were picked. If I could do something about it I would." he mumbled into my hair. I rubbed a circle into his back.

"It's alright I'll win. I have to." I consoled him. His hand went underneath my chin and brought my face up to his. I hadn't time to think before his soft lips crashed onto my own forcefully. I kissed him back and moved my arms to lock behind his neck, the games reruns forgotten.

Our tongues battled for dominance throughout the night and clothing was lost and we were glad of the soundproof rooms as the sun rose. I woke from the sweet oblivion wrapped in Peetas arms one of his hands resting protectively on my tummy. I smiled and turned in his arms before kissing his nose then his lips. Somehow, I didn't mind being completely naked in his arms. Then again, I doubt it mattered. Peeta was an excellent artist and could probably paint all of me perfectly.

"Morning," I greeted him as his blue eyes opened to greet my own brown ones.

"If only all morning afters were like this," He groaned as he sat up "too bad," I giggled.

"Oh hush, don't ruin my happy mood." I kissed him once more before getting up to dress. I could feel his eyes watching me as I worked with the technology to get a loose pale pink shirt and long white leather pants. I might be five months pregnant but I hardly looked much different due to under eating.

Bare pale arms wrapped around me from behind as lips met my neck.

"You shouldn't tease me." I moaned a bit as he bit down.

"But it's such fun." I turned to him smiling before shimmying out of his grip and picking out a pair of high silver heels. With my newfound height I looked more of the seventeen year old I was. Not that I wasn't gifted in the curves department. Or the looks department for that matter. Actually I had light maple syrup color-not that I had ever had any before skin and striking green eyes. My hair I was very proud of, it was mid thigh length brown curly hair that accentuated my um, assets. Not that any of that would matter in the arena.

Looking up from my heels I watched Peeta don a silvery shirt and black dress pants. Glancing once more at him I opened the door and stepped out to the hallway. We would be in Panem today.

I greeted Haymitch who was pouring booze into a teacup religiously. He glanced up at me with an interesting expression on his face.

"What?" I asked as I sat to butter a piece of toast.

"Whose baby is that?" he asked. I looked at him for a moment.

"You haven't figured it out?" He took a good look at Peeta as he shuffled in.

"Guess I have." He drank from his teacup. At that moment Effie burst in with a sleepy Katniss and a disgruntled

"We have arrived in Panem!" She exclaimed. I stood and looked out the window to view the shining city. Here it goes.


	2. Chapter 2

There it was, Panem. The shining silver capitol that hardly anyone saw. A bit of an architectural waste if you ask me but then again, who am I to judge? Eric came to stand beside me and gape at the window before we headed into a rocky tunnel that blocked our view. I noticed Peeta leaned more heavily than usual on his cane today and had an unreadable expression as Katniss stared at him.

When the tunnel ended we were at the station where a group of city residents stood to meet us. Haymitch looked longingly at his teacup before taking the alcohol he had been pouring into the cup and simply taking a long drink of it.

"Haymitch, must you?" Effie scolded.

"You didn't seem to mind when it was in the teacup." I muttered. Haymitch pointed at me.

"I like her." Effie huffed and shooed Eric and I out of the compartment and to the door, straightening out our outfits and telling us where to go. I noticed Peeta had grabbed Katnisses' hand and were lined up right behind us followed by Haymitch and Effie. Poor woman, having to deal with us lot. Then again, I can't say I much liked her however poisoned her mind was from the Capitol.

The door opened and Eric jumped down immediately and helped me down carefully before smiling and waving at the crowd. I placed my hand on the crook of his elbow before waving at the crowd as well. Peeta and Katniss weren't far behind us as we were escorted by the uniformed peacekeepers to the inside of well, I don't know what it was. But now, I think I shall name it the halls of pain. Really, Katniss had arranged for Cinna to design our outfits and the prep team well, they liked waxing I guess.

It felt nice for the hot wax to lie on your skin, heating your legs in the otherwise bare room but then the world shattering rip as your legs became smoother than you thought possible banished all happy thoughts for good. The prep team plucked, pricked, snipped, and filed all of Katniss and I as we shared looks of agony from across the room, already had made peace with the fact we were naked and couldn't do a thing about it.

"Well, that was…unexplainably relaxing and painful at the same time." I muttered as we sat waiting for Cinna to come with costumes.

"Tell me about it. It was more awkward last year when it was just me alone." Katniss agreed. Cinna came in then and smiled at Katniss before turning a calculating eye to me- well mainly my slightly distended stomach.

"How many months Zila is it?" I nodded and told him five. "Portia, could you go get a case of fat?" he asked one of his helpers who had extremely long green and black fingernails that seemed to be split into many parts. She nodded and left the room.

"Since you're pregnant I'm afraid I don't think we can go for getting the audience to like you by being cute. That and the other tributes could just simply see you as a bloated fluff ready for the spearing or stabbing or whatever otherwise!" he rambled on and I smiled.

"I get it, just piss me off before we get on stage and we should be good to go?" he laughed and nodded before handing me a black dress bag and Katniss a matching one. Unzipping the bag I gasped as I saw a golden shimmering dress that probably fell to my feet. My suspicions were confirmed when I pulled the dress out. I also found out that there were two huge slits up both sides of the dress that stopped at my hips. Katniss awed at my dress before she opened up her own and I looked inside with her. Inside was a strange black wrap thing and a black skirt that too was split to her hips but fell to below her knees.

"I like that, dangerous and hardly anything to worry about ripping." She laughed as Portia came in with the case. I gulped rather audibly as Cinna pulled out a case and attached a large sterile needle to the end.

"Now this will be uncomfortable, I won't lie but I promise by tomorrow morning when you wake up everything extra will be gone." Cinna told me as he stuck the needle in my tummy.

"Oww," I whined before I became fascinated by how my tummy grew into a healthy looking one instead of the smaller one because of my lack of baby weight.

"Okay, I won't lie that's cool, but, what's the point?" I asked.

"Well, Panems citizens use it for many things, sometimes to replicate tracker jacker stings-don't ask or to get bigger whatevers." He explained as he injected the last of it. He lifted the dress above my head and helped me into it. The dress fell nicely onto my body.

Cinna helped Katniss into her outfit as the prep team did my hair and makeup. When they had finished I found Cinna had done Katniss as well and that we were ready. I looked in the full length mirror and was shocked at what I saw- a woman with a ponytail extending nearly a foot from my head wrapped in gold ribbon and gold and black eyeshadow was dressed in a goddesses dress that sparkled like nobodies business. She was beautiful and fearsome. Katniss looked every inch of the warrior I knew she was in the old style fighting garb.

The top Katniss had on was really only a long strip of black cloth with the middle on the back of her neck then it crossed over to cover her breasts and crossed over again on the middle of her back to become connected to the warrior skirt.

Cinna then took us out to meet the boys-Peeta and Eric respectively dressed to match us.

Peeta looked stunning in his matching garb to Katniss with black leggings with a huge split gold loincloth held in place by a golden sash and nothing to cover his bare smooth chest. A gold armband was wrapped around his left bicep. Eric was the same except his bottoms were completely black with hints of silver and a sliver armband on his right bicep.

"Well don't you two look attractive." I purred, winking suggestively at Katniss.

"Yes well let's get going, we will need to be there in ten minutes." Cinna urged us onward.

I found myself pulled off to the side and into a small closet. I looked up straight into the face of Peeta. His arms were on either side of me effectively pinning me to the wall.

DUN DUN DUN!

The Author Speaks: Thank you so much to my reviewers! You have no idea how much they mean even if it is just as simple as "good job" "loved it" or even just "update!". I will have to leave y'all hanging until Saturday because I'm heading off to Chicago for my school! Up next: The Conversation. I need to name my chapters! Ta!


	3. Chapter 3

rI looked up into his blue eyes now hard like ice chips. We stared at each other for a moment listening to each others quiet breaths. He looked down before speaking. He took a few deep breaths as if to calm himself down then looked at me.

"I should have- somebody should have volunteered for you!" He exclaimed while pounding his fist into the wall beside my head. I watched him as his hand dropped down to touch my stomach. So this is what this is about.

"There isnt anything we can do now Peeta." I told him. "All we can do is fight to the death and hope the odds are in our favor." He nodded as he looked at my protruding tummy.

"I never thought that sentence would ever be used in a realistic way." He laughed wetly and looked up at me and I noticed the unshead tears in his eyes glittering like diamonds. I laughed quietly too before grabbing his other hand and placing it on the bump. Cinna could probably have gone a little lighter with the fat.

I watched as his thumbs drew small circles on my belly and his breaths became ragged. Cupping his face I brought it up to meet mine before I hugged him tightly, savoring the feeling of his hard body pressing against mine. His arms immediately went around me and pulled me even closer as he held me very tight.

"We'll get through this Peeta." I whispered to him as we stood there. He drew back and quickly pressed his lips to mine hard. I kissed him back just as eagerly forgetting for a moment how risky it was.

We broke apart breathing slightly harder and I was sure my cheeks were flushed. Peeta ran his thumb across my cheek and I leaned my face into his touch closing my eyes and sighing softly, somehow going from the role of the comforter to the comforted. He kissed my hand then my neck then my lips before leading me back out in the hallway and guiding me to the chariots. The ordered platonic front back on in both of our parts.

I stepped into my chariot as Eric shot me a look as Cinna came over to give us instructions.

"Alright to display you as a team I've decided that Eric is going to carry you on his right shoulder." I gaped at him.

"Cinna, I'm a whale especially with this gel stuff. What if I throw out his shoulder or something." Cinna shook his head.

"You're a bird Zila, you won't do a thing to him." I looked at Eric for some type of backup but he simply agreed with Cinna. Without warning Eric hoisted me up onto his shoulder and I watched in horror as Cinna pressed a metal thing to my back then placed a lighter at the edge of my dress only to see translucent silver flames begin dancing along the bottom of my dress. Cinna then handed Eric a scepter wreathed in flames.

We started then with Katniss and Peeta in front of us, the others having already gone. I felt something sputter to life on my back as we made it out of the doors and I set my face before looking at Panems residents. The sheer number of people looking at me made me feel like my heart was dragged to the back of my chest then tied to a huge rock and I felt the air whoosh out of my lungs. I made a face at my left side before waving imperiously then raising my ams with my mouth open in an angered hiss.

I spent the rest of my quick time out there with an unreadable face including when the president gave his 'Welcome to the Quarter Quell" speech. Then we were done and I was deposited shaking on the floor. Peeta kneeled by me and felt my forehead.

"You alright?" He asked. I shook my head.

"No, I think...I'm gonna be sick." I gasped out as I shot up and ran to the conveniently located bathrooms. I had a feeling I wasn't the only one to ever puke after the chariot ride.

As I sat on the cool floor heaving into the marble like basin that served as a toilet with my arms folded in front of me for my foreheads to rest on I heard someone come in. I was too weak to look up so I was surprised that whoever it was gathered my hair from where it had fallen around me and clipped it up into a loose bun around the tall ponytail before slipping a glass into my hand. Glancing down it was water so I took a small sip before looking behind me.

Standing behind me was the man that I knew to be Finnick Odair with a sad smile on his face.

"Thanks," I murmured. He nodded.

"It was the least I could do." he answered while rubbing small circles on my back with his hand. After a few more sips of water I felt well enough to get up so Finnick helped me up and escorted me to the elevator where he explained to me how to get to district twelves quarters.

I leaned against the glass of the elevator and noticed a people shaped smudge on the wall opposite of me. As I stepped out of the elevator and into the district district twelve quarters I was quickly grabbed and pulled into a hug. The strange woodsy and sweet scent gave it away as Peeta as I inhaled deeply.

He led me to the tv where everyone except Effie who seemed to be absent was gathered. The past hunger games were on and Katniss looked mildly sickened. I sat down on the soft leather couch beside Peeta and pulled a fuzzy blanket over me.

I don't remember falling asleep but I remember being carried by two familiar arms and laid down gently onto my bed that seemed to be inexplicably warm

AN: this is how much I care about all of you. I will have you know that I typed this all out on my phone on the non mobile version of fanfiction (thats tiny writing if you wanted to know... and if you did one thing wrong the whole damn thing was lost. soo review and my sore bum for sitting 8 hours on a bus will feel that much better. again, no matter what you say in a review the fact you took the time to do it makes my day! bye loves


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